Seeking the Source was a week long mapping expedition that took place
from May 17 – 23, 2015 along the Chester Creek in Anchorage Alaska. A
residency of sorts, Seeking the Source focused on the Chester Creek,
the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek trail, and adjacent parks and
neighborhoods. Each crewmember mapped the trail in their own way,
while also attending public gatherings with individuals with either
cultural, historical or scientific expertise on the area. The crew
also met with different individuals and groups that use the trail on a
regular basis.

5/18– US Fish and Wildlife AM meeting and PM potluck with Lanie
Fliecher, Vic Fischer and Dwayne Adams to discuss the history of the
trail

5/19– Attend ARC of Anchorage walking group and PM potluck with long
time Anchorage residents Colleen Rutledge, Wallace Arthur Smith, and
Beverly Smith, and Tracy Smith from Fish and Game to discuss fish in
the creek; then and now

5/20– Bike to Work Day Bacon station, gathering with youth from the
Fairview Recreation Center and evening ride from Woodside Park to
Midnight Sun Brewing Co. to discuss bike commuting in Anchorage

Our Blog

We have created a unique AR channel through Junaio for Tall Tails. You can still click on the points of interest on the map above to access each story, but can also listen to them on the trail by using...

I’m back in New York City now, musing on my final map and all the blues I saw in Alaska. The most beautiful blues of course were not manufactured. They were the startling ones, the glimmer of the magpie...

I made up this narrative about this place before I arrived. I thought a man named Chester had come into Anchorage by following a pathway along a creek. I thought that this foundational expedition was part of the celebration of...

On our way back from the Headwaters we ran into an assemblyman, a neighborhood resident and construction workers, all of which gave us insight into the future of the eastern section of the creek. There is a desire to re...

After finishing up our final potluck the crew drove up to Muldoon and hiked along the southern branch of Chester Creek, up to where it enters Fort Richardson. The second, larger headwaters to the creek starts as a couple springs...

On Friday evening we headed for one of the sources of Chester Creek - Russian Jack Spring and then up to Muldoon to watch the creek wrap through the subdivisions and forest up there. On Saturday, we walked back from Russian...

On Friday evening we had a potluck at one of the Russian Jack Springs. It is one of the headwaters of the Chester Creek and is the only source the creek has within the greenbelt. The crew discussed their experiences...

Susan also shared this map. She has been charting how people cross Goose Lake in the winter when it is frozen, mapping the paths that develop. Susan has charted some paths that consistently form year after year...

As we move farther along the trail, it becomes more forested and blues are few. I bike along the trail and through culverts; the corrugated metal tunnels make me feel like I am inside a whale’s throat. I pass...

On May 2oth we joined forces with the Bike to Work crew. A couple of crew members were at the morning Bacon Station at Woodside park and we joined an evening ride from there to Midnight Sun Brewing. Here is...

We gathered up a crew of kids from the Fairview Recreation Center and brought them down to the trail to talk mapping and plants. Here are a few drawings Sarah made with them while explaining some of the local plants...

A spot we kept returning to, the oxbow in the creek east of Woodside Park and south of Hillstrand Pond served as lunch site, meeting place and even classroom. On Wednesday we met at the oxbow to work on map...

I recently read of a Swiss physicist named Horace Benedict de Saussure who, living in the 1700s, wanted to measure the intensity of blue in the sky. He created the cyanometer, a round dial that had 53 shades of blue...

May 18th began with a bike ride. After I passed through Valley of the Moon Park I entered a terrain of thick wilderness marked with small footpaths leading deeper into the forest. In the dense woods you sense the presence...

On Monday morning we met with David Wigglesworth and Katrina Mueller from Fish and Wildlife at Westchester Lagoon. Here is a photo from the 1940s David provided. It is of the site before it was dammed up to create the...

I have collected around 20 sound bites of people sharing their favorite places and memories on the trail. The Chester Creek Trail continues to amaze me with the resources it provides. Today I heard stories of commuting, prayer, and feeding...

"High" lights from this walk include walking over the bridge at Bunker, under Arctic in the tunnel, and into one of the Chester Creek's best parks: Valley of the Moon. As usual, dog walkers, families and people out to...

First day on the trail - what a milieu. I love this section of the trail for the wide variety of activities and people enjoying the trail. Over the week, many people have shared that the lagoon and the view towards...

While exploring the Chester Creek files at Parks and Recreation we found a stack of letters sent out on Aug 11, 1982 to various home owners who's gardens, fences and other out-buildings encroached upon the greenbelt...

We had a great trip to the Parks and Recreation department, where we learned about the history of the Chester Creek Trail and had the amazing opportunity to see and record all of the original maps and documentation that have...

Before Seeking the Source took to the Chester Creek Trail, we set up booths at the Saturday Spenard Farmer's Market and the In-Tent-City Festival down in Ship Creek. Here are the stories collected during those two events...

My name is Meghan Holtan, but for this experiment I will be masquerading as my alter ego - Guy Sidewalk. Guy Sidewalk is an inquisitive flanneur, who enjoys experiencing the built environment as a very tall pedestrian. Earlier work appears here...

Meet Colin Allen, joining the crew from Brooklyn, New York. This isn't Colin's first time orienteering. He used to be a guide / troupe leader for the Boy Scouts! He is also responsible for our new website. Thank's...

Meet Jimmy Riordan (photo by Mike Conti). Also from Anchorage, Jimmy projects have involved earth building, comics, letterpress, translation and now exploration. All united by his interest in autodidactics, the self-taught and group learning.

Photographer and video artist Michael Conti joins the crew from Anchorage. Many of you are probably familiar with Michael's Hockey Shorts and Don Quixote Project. Check out more of his work at http://contiphotos.com/Contiphotos/home.html...

Meet Sarah Frary! A member of our crew coming up from Homer, where she's been living for the last couple years. Sarah is an illustrator, adventurer and tattoo artist. These pictures are of her watercolor rendition of the Cook...

Susan Share shared this map of the APU ski trails with the crew before heading out on their wetland walk. APU and UAA are working to develop the land around Goose Lake and Susan says that they have removed this...

Seeking the Source is a mapping expedition, focusing on Chester Creek, the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek trail, and adjacent parks and neighborhoods. Through routine, group activities and meetings, solo endeavors, scheduled community activities and spending more time looking and being...